Love Your Boobs – Run for the Cure

By the time I was in Grade 5, I was fully developed. When I say developed, I mean I was no longer training my chest, it had exploded overnight it seemed into full size cans, jugs, chesticles…..big honkin boobs! Whatever you call them, I had them and I hated them! For ten years I did everything in my power to hide them from the world, wearing shirts three sizes too big and hunching over my shoulders. My breasts were quite literally the worst thing to ever happen to me.

It wasn’t until my early 20s that I gained a quiet acceptance of my breasts and began to, ahem, flaunt them. They were, after all, real and spectacular and my maturity had finally caught up to my breast size.

In my 30s I had my daughters and I fell hard for my breasts. Despite the fact they were having the life sucked out of them, I marveled at my body and my breasts. I was, and have been, very much in love with them ever since.

As I head into my 40s, I now fear for my breasts. I am a mere five years away from the highest risk category there is. As I’ve become quite attached to my boobs, I want to do everything in my power to help decrease my chances of developing breast cancer. I’ve already started to work on my #OneNewThing and I’m working hard to share the information with as many women as I can.

But it’s not enough, because we don’t yet have a cure.

While I live with a niggling fear in the back of my head, breast cancer is a startling reality for far too many Canadian women. 1 in 9 Canadian women will develop breast cancer in their life and tragically, 1 in 29 will die from it. Breast cancer continues to be the most common cancer diagnosis in Canadian women over 20.

That’s why the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure that happens each October is such a powerful event. It pulls together survivors, family of those affected by breast cancer, women and men of all ages and their friends from across Canada to help raise funds to find a cure. If you’ve never participated in a CIBC Run for the Cure, I can tell you it’s an amazing experience.

I cried, I laughed, I breathed hard and at the end I knew that I had been a part of something great. I ran for my friends, my mother, my aunts, and most importantly, my daughters. I ran for all the women who have fought and won and fought and lost battles with breast cancer. I ran, like I’ve never run before and it felt great.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a “runner”, consider signing up for this year’s CIBC Run for the Cure with your friends. Trust me, walking is just as effective. This year’s run will be held Sunday, October 5^th in 65 communities across Canada.

We’re excited to have someone running this year too. Our contributor Sarah Robinson will be running for Life In Pleasantville and will be sharing her experience with us after the run on October 5^th. She is running for her best friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35! You can sponsor Sarah here as she works towards her personal fundraising goal of $300 and a future free of breast cancer.

Be sure to follow @CBCF_ on Twitter for the latest updates on this incredible run!

Thank you to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation for sponsoring this post on Life in Pleasantville. All the girls here are rather attached to their girls. We are grateful for your continued efforts to find a cure.